Two Billion Eyes by Ying Zhu

Author:Ying Zhu [Zhu, Ying]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781595588029
Publisher: The New Press

The Lecture Room

This notion of guidance similarly drives Wan Wei and his cultural powerhouse of a show, The Lecture Room, which features, not surprisingly, lectures by Chinese scholars. It is the flagship program of CCTV-10, which was founded on June 9, 2001, and specializes in science and technology programs as well as educational, cultural, and social programs.

CCTV-10 began in 2006 to promote the slogan “two services and one effect” to emphasize the channel’s duty of effectively serving society and the public. The “society” here meant the party-state, while the “public” meant ordinary viewers. “Effect” refers to whether the program appeals to the viewer and is therefore measured by ratings. Topics of current events were said to be more effective in attracting audiences. Traditionally, the channel had collaborated heavily with academic institutions to produce pedagogical programs, some of which were literally taped programs with professors or scholars delivering lectures. In 2007, as the central government started a new campaign for media professionals to produce content that would be closer to the realities of people’s daily lives, the channel pushed forward a format reform that took into consideration TV as an audiovisual medium. Serialized storytelling with thematic consistency was identified as a good way to retain audiences. The push ultimately transformed many lofty yet dull educational programs into popular ones.

The Lecture Room had begun its life as an unpopular show broadcasting the latest scientific and research findings. It wasn’t until it settled on a formula featuring literary scholars and historians who interpreted Chinese classical texts to an in-studio audience that it found success. Gone were the hard-to-popularize science topics and less dynamic scientists. The remaining literary scholars were instructed to talk about history in an accessible yet engaging manner, suitable for both refined and popular tastes. Scholars such as Yi Zhongtian, Liu Xinwu, Yan Chongnian, and Yu Dan appear regularly on the program and are now household names in China.

The program now ranks second among all CCTV-10 programs and has received wide recognition among netizens. Several scholars turned lecturers on the show have become celebrities with lucrative book contracts that brought them millions of Chinese yuan in profit. The books themselves frequently become bestsellers, and their releases have become public events, frequently drawing huge crowds. The show’s most formidable producer, Wan Wei, was unabashed about the commercial success of Lecture in terms of both ratings and print. “We made three million in three years!” he exclaimed during our interview. Wan was the producer who resuscitated the program after its initial suspension and oversaw the revamping. According to Wan, the financial success of the show in its current format is a significant sign that there is room in Chinese television for quality programs that teach people about Chinese classics and traditional thought. “Audiences are capable of recognizing lively programs of cultural value,” Wan emphasized. He, of course, was the one who transformed the stiff Lecture of its early days to the lively program of its current format. How did he manage to do

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